The present invention relates to a mould (also called matrix) for making stuffed or filled food products, such as for instance stuffed or filled rice-based food products, in particular Sicilian arancini, that allows in a simple, reliable, efficient and inexpensive to manually make such food products by reducing the production times and increasing the homogeneity of the made products.
Also, by inserting a mould or more preferably a plurality of moulds according to the invention in an apparatus provided with at least partially automated devices of mechanical handling, the mould according to the invention is capable to allow the production of such food products in an at least partially automated way, allowing small household appliances to be made.
In the following of the present description reference will be mainly made to Sicilian arancini as stuffed or filled food products which may be made with the mould according to the invention. However, it should be considered that the mould according to the invention may be also used for making other stuffed or filled food products, such as for instance stuffed or filled rice-based food products as suppli or filled rice balls, possibly through a simple modification of the shape of the mould according to the invention, still remaining within the scope of protection of the present invention. The arancino is a typical product of Sicilian gastronomy that is widespread in all its variants and known even outside the boundaries of Sicily.
It is known that housewives make the typical Sicilian arancini manually, but this entails a series of manipulations not easy to make, which not everybody is capable to make, given the inhomogeneity of the material of which the arancino is make. This entails a waste of time and arancini not of the same weight and shape.